'From the river to the sea': Why a Green MP caused controversy with six words
Glenn McConnell05:00, Nov 07 2023
Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick at a rally for Gaza in Auckland
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Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick on Saturday, joined community groups, activists and politicians at a rally for Gaza held in Auckland.
Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick on Saturday, joined community groups, activists and politicians at a rally for Gaza held in Auckland.
At the conclusion of her speech, she chanted the first six words to a well known pro-Palestine slogan, “From the river to the sea”. To which the crowd replied, “Palestine will be free.”
These words are highly controversial.
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In the UK, the centre-left Labour Party suspended its
MP, Andy McDonald, recently after he said the words “between the river and the sea” at a pro-Palestine rally. The UK Labour Party called his comment “deeply offensive”.
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In October,
Vienna police banned a pro-Palestinian protest, citing the fact the phrase “was mentioned in invitations and characterising it as a call to violence”.
The
BBC has also reported the Metropolitan Police ended its relationship with an adviser who was filmed using the chant. And the UK Football Association has said it will consult police if players use the phrase,
the Guardian reported.
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Much of the offence comes from the fact that Hamas, the group that controls Gaza and which launched a deadly attack (
killing more than 1000 civilians and taking hundreds of hostages) in October,
includes the phrase in its constitution.
Its statement reads: “Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”
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Protests in support of Palestine and Gaza have frequented Parliament, as the ongoing conflict between the two people continues.
The slogan has been called anti-Semitic by groups including the New Zealand Jewish Council, which said the chant parrots “genocidal” intentions of Hamas.
Some pro-Palestinian groups (and some Jewish activists) disagree. They say the slogan highlights that Palestinians were removed from their homeland and have not received equal rights in Israel.
Swarbrick said she started the chant on Saturday after a Jewish activist did the same, as she believed it called for Palestinians’ human rights to be respected.
ACT leader David Seymour criticised Swarbrick for repeating “inflammatory statements” at the protest.
Where did the phrase come from?
Similar phrasing has been used by a number of Palestinian groups
for decades.
The
founding charter of Israel’s Likud party – which is now the largest party in Israel’s parliament – has used similar language to discuss Israeli sovereignty.
“Between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty,” article one of the 1973 charter stated.
In both cases, the description refers to the land between the Mediterranean Sea in the West and the Jordan River in the East.
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For many years, the phrase has been a rallying call for Pro-Palestine activists who argue Israel has illegally detained and removed Palestinians from their homes.
Criticism of the chant
David Zwartz, a leader of the NZ Jewish Council, said the phrase was strongly anti-Semitic as it echoed Hamas’ charter – which called for an end to “the Zionist entity”.
Zionism refers to the movement to establish a Jewish state, which became Israel in 1948.
“The words did not come out of thin air, they were adopted and used by people who supported the Hamas viewpoint,” Zwartz said.
“It is calling for the destruction of the state of Israel. That means they want to do away with Jews who live there. It is certainly a very destructive anti-Jewish attitude to have.”
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David Zwartz (left) is a member of the executive of the NZ Jewish Council.
Zwartz said the Jewish Council has raised concerns with the Green Party in the past, over its MPs’ use of the “from the river to the sea” chant.
“As parliamentarians, they are using this chant knowing it calls for the obliteration of the state of Israel. That does not deny the right of the Palestinians to self-determination,” he said.
Given Zwartz said the chant became popular after Hamas published its charter, he said there was a direct link between the slogan and Hamas.
(New Zealand treats Hamas’s military wing as a terrorist organisation, but not the movement as a whole, leaving it out of step with Australia, the UK, the US and Canada.
Before leaving office, former PM Chris Hipkins signalled he was seeking advice on this matter.)
what a ****er